Just Another Story
by Varcolaci
Summary: Hermione find Snape after a dark revel...what happens next? this story was meant to ignore the general plot of the books, but i will try to incorporate important elements of it into the story!
1. Blood trail

Disclaimer: JK owns the characters.

A/n: This is the first fic i'm writing upon SOMEONE's request. Decided to write one anyway. Had this idea in my head a year ago, so here's the result! I dont know if i will continue, so do tell me what you think, thanks and a title would help too.

The loud slam of the castle door reverberated through the empty corridors as a hooded figure slowly limped his way towards the dungeons, blood dripping from his form, leaving a small bloodied trail in his wake. Gritting his teeth in pain, he could only pray that his body could withstand it long enough for him to make it to his private quarters where all the essential healing potions and salves would be available to him. He snorted at the idea of a student seeing him in this condition. He, Severus Snape, Potions Master, Bat of the Dungeons… the Greasy Git- with the capability of making 7th years quake in his presence and a 1st year pee in his pants with his trademark sneer and ice cold glares. Thankfully it was way past midnight and most of the students had gone home for the Christmas holidays. Chances of meeting anyone were slim. Or so he thought.

_Damn the Inner Circle. Damn Voldemort. Damn it all. _He silently cursed as black spots began to appear in his vision. _Great, wouldn't it be lovely, to find a dead Potions Master in the middle of the corridors? _He allowed himself a small sour chuckle at the thought of a frightened Hufflepuff finding his body in the morning. _Probably would get traumatized for life._

He felt no fear of dying; it would bring him the peace that he had so secretly longed for, to get away from the harsh realities of life. He was just so worn out with all these Dark Revels, kissing Voldemort's ass, and playing Dumbledore's pawn. He knew what he did was useful for the Order, but he seriously wondered how much more of this double life he could live. This war had gone on far too long; too many lives had been lost. Just as his vision began to fade, he heard a feminine voice give a soft cry of surprise. _Brilliant_ was his last sarcastic thought as he promptly blacked out.

Hermione Granger, resident know-it-all, Head Girl, was taking a quiet stroll around the castle when a glitter of dark liquid on the marble floor caught her eye. Curious, she bent down to take a closer look. She gave a soft gasp as she realized its nature and noticed that it was fresh. Spotting more little drops of blood leading down the passage way, steadily growing in to bigger puddles, she quickly followed the trail. What she found at the end of it surprised her so that she gave a startled gasp. A hooded figure, entirely in black, was bent over as though in pain in a small puddle of blood. This instantly reminded her of her first year, where Quirrell had drank unicorn's blood on behalf of Voldemort. Her first instinct was to back away and run to Dumbledore or any other teacher for help. But when the figure collapsed, she couldn't help but cautiously approach the figure.

Using her wand, she cast a simple diagnosis spell from a distance to see if there was any sign of life. The spell showed her a weak pulse and severe loss of blood. Recalling what she learnt from Madam Pomfrey over the years, due to all her adventures with Harry and Ron, she quickly knelt by the figure and removed the hood. Her eyes widened with shock when she saw the pale face.

"Pro…Professor Snape?"

No response.

Hermione knew she had to act quickly. She used a mild slicing hex to remove the heavy cloak, and found the source of bleeding. He had been stabbed in the abdomen, and had tried to heal the wound without much success.

_It's a miracle he could even stand, let alone attempt a healing spell._

She quickly stopped the bleeding, and proceeded to heal the internal wounds. It was a tedious process, as healing a wound that deep required skill and a certain amount of magical energy. When she was done, grimly satisfied, she proceeded to check for other wounds on his body.

_I can't believe I'm doing this! He's my Professor!_

She checked mainly his arm and legs rather than other parts of his torso, and found multiple bruises and cuts all over his body. She healed those she could, but frowned when she saw the odd angle his arm was in. Madam Pomfrey had not yet taught her how to fix joints, and to attempt it now was too risky. Besides, he was in need of a blood-replenishing potion if he was to survive till daylight. But where was she to get one? Madam Pomfrey had gone on a Christmas holiday as well, since the castle generally had no accidents during the holidays due to a low number of students staying over. In times of war, it was natural that people tried to spend as much time with their families. _As I should be spending time with mine right now if they were still here. No time for mourning Granger! Think! Blood-replenishing potion… _

And the thought struck her.

How could she be so stupid to forget that Professor Snape had a private cabinet of potions? She had helped clean and arrange them once during her detention with him. He had surprised her when he allowed her near his private stock, but had quickly vanquished all positive thoughts from her mind when he said it was only because it needed cleaning and he had no other choice but her. Anyway, she recalled a bottle of the required potion there, and promptly levitated him to the dungeons.

There, she murmured a series of complex spells that would have made other 7th years feel like 5th years, to gain access to his office. Locating the cabinet, and quickly repeating the same set of spells. However, those did not work. She started to panic, and considered breaking the door open, but her logical mind told her that if she tried that, the potions inside would bear the risk of being damaged. Thinking back on her detention, she recalled Snape uttering an incantation, a sort of password. Knowing she would need that to open the cabinet, she transfigured the nearest object, a quill, into a marble dish.

_Will do for a pensieve for now. _She extracted the memory from her head, unceremoniously dumped the silvery wisp into the dish, and not-so-literally dived back into the memory, praying silently that Snape could hold out till she came back.

It was weird to see a ghostly image of herself waiting impatiently, eager to see what was in her Professor's private cabinet. She moved up to the memory of Snape, constantly reminding herself that it was just a memory and that he really couldn't see her. She listened intently to the password the Potions Master uttered. Even by being so near his memory, she could barely hear it. And when she did, even in the seriousness of the situation, she couldn't help but burst out in laughter.

"_Die lemon drops, die_."

No one would have EVER thought the greasy bat of the dungeons had a sense of humour, however ironic or sadistic it may be. Wait till she told Harry and Ron! They would probably grow a six pack from laughing so hard. But since it was a password, especially that of a teacher's, she decided it wouldn't be wise. Snape would kill her if he found out. Suddenly remembering what she was there for, she quickly focused on exiting the memory.

Whispering the password, she opened the cabinet and grabbed the needed bottle.

_Thank god its still here!_

She uncorked it and uncomfortably tried to make an unconscious Snape down the potion. Bit by bit, after what seemed like an eternity, he finished the bottle and colour returned to his cheeks. She breathed a sigh of relief. At least he would survive. Now where could she put him? She didn't know where his private quarters was. And for the second time that night, another thought struck her.

The Room of Requirement.

How COULD she not remember that in the first place? It would have saved the time spent of getting the potion, which could have very well cost the life of her Potions Master. She levitated him to the corridor the Room was located at, desperately thinking _I need a place to heal, to help… _Before she even finished the thought, a door appeared and she hastily went in.

There, she found a room almost identical to the hospital wing, just that it looked more up-to-date, with medical supplies arranged neatly in shelves by the side, a large comfy bed, and other medical equipment she could not identify. She levitated Snape onto a bed, and performed the diagnosis spell again. This time, it showed a stronger heart beat, although still weak. Hermione took a deep breath, pointed her wand at his chest, hoping that he would awaken so she could contact the Headmaster. It wouldn't do to leave him unconscious anywhere.

"Enervate."


	2. Wakey wakey

Chapter 2: Wakey wakey

"_Enervate."_

The moment she said the spell, Hermione quickly slipped out the door. She knew that he would not react well to her presence, and his pride would ensure that she had a good blast of an Obliviate before she could even explain... or protest, even. And she could not risk that happening. She wanted to keep the memory; no matter how haunting it was, seeing her usually cold and unfeeling Professor so vulnerable.

Severus Snape's eyes fluttered open at the soft click of the door. From the first view he saw, he immediately realized that he was not in familiar territory, but years of being a spy prevented him from bolting upright or even flinch. He remained silent, trying to sense if there was any one in the room, but felt no presence. Remaining calm and taking slow, deep breaths, he tried to recollect what had occurred before he blacked out. He remembered returning from a Dark Revel, barely alive but conscious, struggling with each step to get to his chambers. Obviously he did not manage to reach them. So where was he?

He racked his brain to recall the moments before he blacked out, and vaguely remembered the voice of a female.

_Minerva, perhaps? _He silently hoped.

Without getting up from the bed, he slowly tested his limbs, which were generally working fine until he moved his right arm. He winced with pain. Obviously someone had healed him as much as they could, but could not complete the job.

_Couldn't be a staff member, then._ He shuddered at the thought of a student finding him and healing his wounds. _Let it at least be a Slytherin… _But he knew that it could not have been a member of his own house as he or she would definitely have stayed till he awoke or left some indication. _Or they could have finished what their parents had started._

He reached for his wand, which was thankfully still with him, and healed his arm with his left hand. Thank goodness he was ambidextrous. Now that the pain had gone, he checked the rest of his body, mainly for the stab wound, and was surprised when he found no indication of it.

_Must be a student with some capability _he thought as he got out of bed, took a better look of his surroundings. It seemed like a hospital of some sort, which he had never seen before. In his career as a spy, he had visited numerous hospitals, both magical and muggle, but had never come across one like that. It looked as though everything necessary to heal a wounded person had been crammed into one room. He decided to venture out of the room. He walked across the room to the door, and was surprised to see the all too familiar corridors of Hogwarts.

_What in Hades…_He cast a series of spells to test if what he saw was an illusion. _Apparently not._

He closed the door behind him only to be surprised again when it vanished completely without a trace. Deciding it was not of significant importance, he left for his chambers, black robes billowing out behind him, hoping for a drink of firewhisky before he made his report to the Headmaster… and to find out who had helped him. And hopefully before she told anyone of her find.

Back in her Head Girl rooms, Hermione recounted what had happened over the past hour. She had known for some time that her Professor was a spy for Dumbledore, but she never knew what the job did to him.

_The brutality he had to face to save the innocent people who would probably never know they owed their lives to him_. She thought bitterly.

Tossing and turning in her bed, she found that she had a difficult time falling asleep and it was only near dawn she managed to drift off, dreaming of ways she would be able to help her professor.

When she awoke in the morning, she had an idea in mind. By the time she finished her morning hygiene rituals, she had already formulated a plan. Now all she needed was some time to fine-tune it and do some research.

Before she knew it, the holidays had ended and school had to start again.

Hogwarts was once again filled with students, all happily chattering about what they had received over the holidays and what fun they had while dining in the Great Hall. The usual complaints of "too much homework" could be heard occasionally and "could I borrow your homework for some…reference?"

Ron wasn't any different.

The moment he saw Hermione, he had hugged her and asked to borrow her homework. Hermione rolled her eyeballs.

"Ron! I will certainly NOT let you copy my work! They were supposed to be done over the holidays and not the last minute! This is our NEWTS year!" she scolded.

"Geez, 'Mione, it was the holidays! Who in their right mind would do their homework?"

"ME." She replied coldly, not about to admit she had been affected by his remark.

She stormed off in the other direction. _How could he still be so childish after all that had happened?_

Her parents had been killed by Death Eaters at the end of her sixth year, leaving her alone with no other relatives in Britain. Due to her time-turner which had added a year to her age, she was a legal adult and thankfully was able to choose to live alone. Unable to go back to her home, she had stayed at Hogwarts upon Dumbledore's request, seeing that the castle would provide her with the best protection and the library would help distract her from her grief.

She had been depressed the first week of her parent's death, and had developed a habit of cutting her arm during her darker periods. It was Professor Snape who had caught her at it. But instead of yelling at her or reporting her to Dumbledore, he had calmly told her to report for detention for a week despite her feeble protests that it was not a school term.

During these detention sessions, Snape was not always present. He set her tasks like brewing potions for the infirmary, preparing potion ingredients for him, and arranging his ingredients and potions cabinets. On a particular day, he had even let her help him brew the wolfsbane potion, much to her surprise. He stimulated her intellect during these sessions, testing her understanding of potion ingredients and their properties although he seemed to remain cool and distant. Slowly, Hermione had realized that by "punishing" her, he was actually helping her recover from her depression by using her interest in academics. After that week was over, her cutting habit had stopped and she focused more on potion studies.

"Hey Hermione." Greeted Harry, interrupting her thoughts.

He had certainly changed after the death of his Godfather, Sirius. Harry seemed to have become more mature, and it was reflected in his face and actions. Gone was the boy who had nightly adventures for the thrill with his trusty side-kick. His eyes no longer held as much innocence as before. He had been the one who tried his best to support Hermione after her parent's death, having experienced Sirius's before.

"Hi Harry" She greeted warmly, giving him a hug.

"Ron tried to borrow your homework again?" he asked with a knowing smile.

"You got that right. How can he not understand the importance of doing it himself? I cant always be there to help him! He needs to learn to grow up." she ranted.

Harry gave a sad smile. True he valued Ron very much as a friend, but recently he found it harder and harder to stand the childish actions coming from him. So much more needed to be learnt if he was to help in the war.

"He will in time, Herm. Relax. We have double potions early tomorrow morning, perhaps you should get some rest."

"Yes, I think I will Harry. Good night."

She gave him a small smile at his understanding, stood and left for her rooms. Being Head Girl, she could always ask a house elf to bring her food should she get hungry. She was tired, but she needed the rest if her plan was to work tomorrow during potions lesson.

_A/n: I cant wait to write chapter three. Thats when the story starts happening! (geez, finally.) HOWEVER, seeing that school opens tomorrow, and i STILL have not finished even half my holiday homework... looks extremely downcast i'll try update...soon._


	3. Potions

Chapter 3: Potions

A/n: Thanks to my first reviewer, Ballmaster. and Himiti too

Double potions in the morning was not her ideal way to start the first day of school back from the holidays, especially since the encounter with Snape. She sat at the back row, partnering Neville as usual so that he would not explode the cauldron.

_Not to mention be the most ignorant of what I'll be doing._ She thought with a small smirk.

Snape strode into the room, silencing all whispers at once with this presence.

"Today we will be brewing the Felix Felicis. No doubt Professor Slughorn has mentioned this to you last year. Potter! What is the Felix Felicis? Let's see if the holidays have wasted what was left of your brain."

He rounded on Harry, eyes fixed on him, although he noticed that for once, Hermione Granger had not raised her hand to answer a question.

"It is liquid luck, Sir. Makes the drinker lucky." Harry had replied, recalling Hermione's words from the previous year.

"5 points from Gryffindor. That was an inadequate explanation, Potter."

Harry had grown too used to Snape taking away house points that he merely shrugged and continued to stare blankly into his book. He certainly could understand the man's bitterness and sour moods, being a spy and all. To top it all off, it didn't help that he reminded Snape so much of his father, who had tormented Snape during his years at Hogwarts. Harry knew this courtesy of Snape's pensieve incident in his fifth year.

"Ms Granger, then."

Hermione blinked, not expecting her Professor to call on her. She had the suspicion he knew that it was her who had tended to him while he was injured, but took a deep breath and answered his question without looking him in the eye.

"It is liquid luck, but desperately tricky to make and disastrous to get wrong. If taken in excess it would cause giddiness, recklessness and dangerous overconfidence, and is highly toxic in large quantities. However, if brewed correctly, one would find that their endeavours tend to succeed, until the effects wear off." She recited, sounding every bit like she had swallowed a text book.

"5 point from Gryffindor for repeating what Potter said"

_That was SO unfair! _Hermione fumed mentally although she was careful not to show a trace of anger on her face.

"The ingredients are on the board, you may begin." With a flick of his wand, the ingredients and steps had appeared on the board, and the students began busying themselves about their potions.

Now according to Hermione's research, she had found out that the required potion base for a Felix Felicis could be turned into that of a deadly poison, which she found in the Restricted Section of the library, while using a disillusionment charm. Knowing that Snape had a habit of picking a difficult potion for the first lessons after the holidays, she had browsed through her book of Advanced Potions and marked the few challenging ones. Once she had them listed, she searched the library for Dark potions that could be made from the same ingredients, or the same base.

It had taken her quite some time before she found at least one Dark potion each for the potions on her list. It so happened that the Felix Felicis had the base of one of the darker poisons she had come across. All she needed to do was add a pinch too much of bicorn horn powder and an extra clockwise stir for the potion to become a poison.

The poison, when drank, would slowly dissolve the bones of a human until they become a heap of flesh and organs. There is no antidote to this particular poison, because if it was stopped in the midst of dissolving the skeleton, there was no way the skeleton can be repaired. The only cure was to have a person drink a large amount of Skele-grow, and let the bones be grown again. However, the pain of re-growing an entire skeletal structure all at once usually ended up killing the poisoned person, or the growing bones could puncture a vital organ.

Hermione made sure that Neville was busy chopping ingredients when she did the necessary procedures. The effect was almost immediate. The potion started bubbling with the steam jet black in colour, and sounds like bones being cracked could be heard emitting from her cauldron. Basically, the potion looked like liquefied bones.

In an instant, Professor Snape was by her cauldron, vanishing its contents and looking positively livid.

"Could you not read simple instructions on the board? Or has your know-it-all status gone right to your head to that you have become to arrogant to read them?" he sneered, glaring at her.

" Detention, Ms Granger. Report to me at 8 in my office. For the rest of this lesson you and Mr Longbottom shall write me an essay on the importance of reading instructions."

With that, he went back to his desk, deep in thought. He knew that she could not have misread instructions. In her past years at Hogwarts, she had never once made a mistake in brewing her potions and was always meticulous. Even when she was mourning her parents, she had been very careful to do a potion right. And it was no coincidence she had created a Dark poison instead.

To her peers it may seem a harmless potions accident, but to a trained Master like Snape, especially one who had dealt with multiple poisons before, he had recognized it easily. There would be a lot of questioning to do when he met her for detention that night.

Hermione on the other hand, had a different thought.

_Mission part one- accomplished._

However, she quickly arranged her facial expression to one of disappointment and sadness even though she was smirking inside.

At 7:59pm, she knocked on his door.

"Enter." Came the bored sounding voice of Professor Snape.

Hermione opened the door and quietly walked in.

"You're late, Ms Granger."

"I'm on time!" she protested.

"According to my watch, Ms Granger, you are 5 minutes late."

_Bastard._

"Lets come clean now, Ms Granger. I know what you did today could not be a mere accident."

"Professor I…"

"Do NOT lie to me, Ms Granger. I will know." And he stared into her eyes.

"You shall tell me your true intentions or I will get Veritaserum and-"

Hermione looked him in the eye.

"Teach me to be a spy."


	4. I See Fire

Chapter 4: I See fire

A/n: I would like to thank Ballmaster, mimbulus-mimbletonia, and kbluesmom for reviewing! And thanks kbluesmom for the help. But it won't be put into effect till the 6th chapter I THINK. Been busy so this chapter will be short. Apologies!

"_Teach me to be a spy." _

In all his years as a teacher in Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Severus Snape had never been more surprised by a student. Nonetheless, he made sure no trace of it showed on his face.

"No."

"But Sir, I…"

"You foolish girl! You have no idea what you want to get into!" he spat.

"I WANT to be a spy! I want to be able to do…"

"Shut up! A girl like you should remain behind the scenes!"

"Stop cutting me off like that! I am no longer a little girl!" yelled Hermione.

For a moment, Snape thought he saw fire in her eyes. He had never seen the little know-it-all Gryffindor so angry before, not even when Draco Malfoy had taken a stab at her parents barely months after they had passed away.

_At least not angry enough to be seeing fire in her eyes._

In the back of his mind, Snape could not help thinking that she had a stubborn streak so similar to him in his younger days. Not that he was a cooperative fellow now. She had absolutely no idea what it meant to be a spy, what she had to go through at the initiation if she even survived the Dark Lord's interrogation. In addition, she was a muggle-born. The Dark Lord had never accepted a muggle born no matter how impressive they may have appeared. To him, muggle-borns were only meant for the pleasures of his Death Eaters, and to test out new spells on.

"I am the best friend of Harry Potter, Sir. "Brains" of the Golden Trio. I can be of value to Voldemort, and can help spy for the Order." she calmly spoke after she took a deep breath.

"As much as you THINK you may be of value to him, Ms Granger, you are obviously too naïve to believe that he would actually accept you."

"Why wouldn't he?"

"You have no idea what he does to muggle-borns like you." Sneered Snape.

He really shouldn't be having this conversation with her. She was much too young to even know these happenings. He should just Obliviate her and give her a normal detention, but before that…

"What's your real reason for wanting to be a spy, Ms Granger?"

"I told you Sir, to help the Order."

"I don't believe that is all, Ms Granger."

"It IS." She replied stubbornly.

Snape studied her facial expression. Although she was concealing it rather well, there was something that she was not telling him.

_So we'll do it my way…_

"Legilimens!"

"NO!" yelled Hermione, noticing what Snape was about to do.

As though a gust of strong wind had hit him, Snape felt himself thrown back both physically and mentally from the girl. He landed in an ungraceful heap not too far from her, looking up to see her gasp in surprise and run out the door. He tried to call out to stop her but his head was filled with a throbbing pain. He was surprised yet again. In his years of experience, only Dumbledore and Voldemort had been strong enough to resist his legimacy powers.

And yet, she had resisted him so easily.

There was only one explanation Severus could think of right now.

_She's a muggle-born psychic._

Hermione didn't stop running till she reached her Head Girl rooms. She quickly muttered the password to the statue guarding her door and ran in. Her mind was in a whirl as she went over what had happened merely one minute ago. Her brain seemed flooded with snippets of memories that didn't belong to her. What she knew before she felt the power surge out of her was that she really did not want Snape to see her memories. The next moment, he had been blasted back somehow by some invisible force and her mind was reeling with memories that weren't her own.

She sat down on the nearest couch and held her head in her hands, willing for the memories to stop whizzing past in her mind. Surprisingly, they did. Slowly the memories came surfacing one by one.

_Snape questioning her about why she wanted to be a spy, thinking that she was yet another foolish Gryffindor._

Hermione gasped. She was going through Snape's private memories!

_Snape giving her detention, already suspecting that her potion was not an accident._

_Snape at the Great Hall observing his Slytherins, hoping that they would not follow their parent's footsteps._

_Severus Snape talking to Lucius Malfoy._

"_I shall meet you soon. Our Lord wants fresh blood into the Circle."_

"_I need time Lucius, you know the Headmaster is observant of me." He didn't want any of his students becoming a Death Eater, thinking he would forestall it as far as possible._

"_I want someone to join my son in his initiation. They can work together to spy on Potter."_

"_We'll discuss this the next time we meet." He kept his face passive._

Hermione could feel his worry that he felt. He did not want ANY student to be a Death Eater. He knew what they would go through and they were much too young.

"_I'll meet you tomorrow night at your office, Severus. Make sure you have a candidate for me to test."_

The memory ended and Hermione gave an involuntary shiver at Malfoy Senior's tone. She knew Snape would try to hold off trying to recruit a student as long as possible, but too long and the Dark Lord would punish him. _And goodness knows if he'll even survive this time._

Suddenly she had an idea.

_Tomorrow night at his office hmmm?_

She had some planning to do.


	5. Oops?

Chapter 5: Oops?

There had to be a way to convince Lucius Malfoy that she wanted to join the Dark side. If she couldn't convince Snape, she definitely wouldn't be able to convince the senior Malfoy. Thankfully, it was a weekend and she would have the whole day free to plan out the perfect idea. Hermione didn't even go down to breakfast, instead choosing to stay in her room to plan. She had been concentrating hard when there was a soft knock on the door.

"Hermione?" came the voice of Harry.

Hermione scrambled to hide the papers she was writing her ideas on. Once they were sufficiently hidden, she opened the door.

"Morning, Harry." She greeted with a warm smile.

"Morning… why weren't you at breakfast? Are you sick? I brought you some toast in case you were hungry." He held out a little bundle of toast wrapped in napkins.

"Oh Harry, thank you. Come in." She didn't realize how hungry she was till smelt the little bundle in Harry's hands. However, as Head Girl, she had the rights to call a house elf to help her if she needed it and Harry knew that. The sweet gesture made her smile to herself.

"Welcome, 'Mione." Said Harry as he settled himself down on the couch.

"So why weren't you at breakfast?"

"I…had a headache." She lied.

Hermione felt bad about lying to Harry, but it's not everyday one of your best friends almost catches you plotting to get into the Death Eater ring. She wanted to tell him so badly about her plans, but she knew that if she did, he would stop her.

"You should be resting now. You need to take care of yourself, 'Mione." He stood to get up and walked to the door slowly.

"Harry, wait." Hermione walked over to him at the door.

"Thank you."

She gave him a small peck on the cheek. He turned pink and muttered a quick good bye before walking away. Before Hermione closed her door, she heard Harry mumble something about wishing he was a Legilimens.

_Legilimens?_

Harry had just given the brilliant base for her idea.

Hours flew by and before she knew it, it was almost evening. According to Snape's memory, he would be meeting Lucius Malfoy in an hour. Hermione went through the fine details of her plan while taking a warm shower before heading down to the Great Hall for dinner.

She had spent the rest of the time after Harry left to practice her mind skills. For some reason, she knew that she could block people from her mind fairly easily. But if Malfoy was to read her mind, she could not blast him back like what happened with Snape or he would suspect her intentions. She needed to practice, but she could not ask anyone or they would question her too much. Thus, she thought of an idea.

Hermione had sneaked into the Defence Against the Dark Arts room during while it was empty, quickly casting a disillusionment charm on herself, and managed to shrink the cupboard containing the boggart. She then slipped the mini cupboard into her pocket, and made sure the coast was clear before she slipped out the door and went back to her rooms. Only when she had entered her room did she remove her charm. She took the shaking mini cupboard out of her pocket.

"Engorgio."

The cupboard rattled with more force now and Hermione was suddenly thinking twice about her idea. All she needed to do now was fear the thought of Malfoy senior reading her mind… which wasn't very difficult considering that if he DID manage to read her mind, not only will she be killed but Snape would be jeopardized as well. And she could not risk that.

Bracing herself, she unlocked the cupboard door and out stepped boggart Lucius, looking every bit like the real Lucius Malfoy. Hermione gave a shudder as he looked at her in the eye and said "Legilimens!"

"GO AWAY!" Hermione had yelled and the boggart was blasted back once again. She had to regain control of her thoughts.

_This is fake…this is fake… I can block him out slowly._

It had taken Hermione hours and a whole block of chocolate before she was finally able to block her thoughts from the boggart-lucius without him being blasted back. She knew that she had succeeded when the boggart gave a look of confusion at being unable to read her mind. She banished it back into the closet and decided to take a break. That had just been part one.

Part two would be trying to not only block the crucial bits of her memory, but to release the more harmless ones, and the memories that would support her wish to join the Death Eaters. But she had a problem. How would she know that the boggart-Lucius was able to read only the thoughts she wanted? She had to have some reaction out of the boggart to know. And she decided to test out releasing only the memory of her punching Draco Malfoy in the nose in her third year.

It took another hour for her to be able to release that one memory. Clearly, blocking out her memory completely was easier than blocking out only parts of it. She had only realized that she had got the memory right when the boggart-Lucius gave her an angry scowl. She practiced for the next half an hour till she developed a splitting headache. Practicing mind powers definitely wasn't as easy as it seemed. She banished the boggart into the cupboard back again, and shrunk the cupboard. Slipping it into her pocket, she cast the disillusionment charm on herself again feeling the cold sensation covering her body. She went back to the DADA classroom and replaced the cupboard. Next, she went to the infirmary to get a dose of headache potion before she went back.

She headed down to dinner after her shower, with the feeling of snakes in her stomach, and sat in between Harry and Ron.

"Hey Herms" they greeted her.

"Where've you been all day?" Ron asked while grabbing some mashed potatoes and putting them on her plate for her.

"She had a headache and was resting in her room." Harry replied for her.

Ron gave Harry a weird look, which didn't go unnoticed by Hermione.

"Hey Ron, could you pass some chocolate cake, please?" She distracted him, and it was rather effective because he stopped giving that weird look to Harry and passed her some cake.

Dinner continued to be a peaceful affair after that, with the trio having conversations about Quidditch and homework. Hermione saw Snape getting up halfway into dinner and knew that he was going to meet Lucius Malfoy.

"Hey guys, I think I'll be off first… I need to check out something in the library."

"I'll follow you." Piped Ron.

"uh… sorry Ron, but I only have one pass for the Restricted Section, and besides, I'll be there for quite some time. Why don't you continue your dinner with Harry?" Hermione tried to waver him off with excuses.

"Yeah, Ron. You know 'Mione when she gets into the library. I'll challenge you to Wizard's Chest after dinner!" Harry offered, to which Hermione sent him a grateful smile while Ron looked downcast. Although Harry didn't know her true intentions, it was nice to have him unwittingly help her out now.

"Bye then!" Hermione quickly stood up before Ron could insist any further and without a backward glance, headed out the Great Hall for Professor Snape's office.

Meeting in Snape's office was one simple yet effective way that Lucius Malfoy thought of to meet Severus Snape. If they were caught, he could always say he was checking up on his son's progress. If they were caught with the potential student Death Eater, he could say the child was serving detention. Or, he could kill them if he saw fit. Kidnap them, use them for the Dark Revels.

_It would be lovely if Potter walked in though. _He couldn't help thinking.

The Dark Lord wanted a spy in the school so that he could gain more insight in the school's happenings, as well as be able to spy on the Potter boy. However, he knew that for a Slytherin it would be more difficult. He hoped that Severus would be able to get a Ravenclaw. Being smart, they should at least be able to accomplish something. In addition, the problem of house rivalry would not be as intense. It would seems incredibly fishy for a Slytherin to approach Potter especially now that the Dark Lord had risen again.

Lucius rapped on the wooden door with a glove clad hand, and waited for a response.

"Enter." Came the voice of Severus Snape.

Lucius strode in with grace and nodded his head in greeting, to which Severus did the same.

"Where is the student, Severus?" questioned Lucius.

"Well, Lucius, you see…"

Snape was interrupted by a student walking in.

"Good evening, Professor Snape. I believe you asked me to drop by? Oh, good evening Mr Malfoy."

Hermione Granger had a nervous small smile on her face.

_Let's see how you can stop me now, Professor._

A/n: WOOT! My longest chapter yet! D Wont be updating till the weekend again I think. Shall try okay? Anyway, the story has just about begun (I'm long winded, I know.) and I've decided this will be a Harry/Hermione fic. HOWEVER, my beloved Severus Snape will play a crucial role too. Love him too much to throw him aside.

I've never written a romance before, so I'd APPRECIATE HELP for the Harry/Herm bits okay!


	6. And so

Chapter 6: And so…

_A/n: once again, thanks to Ballmaster, kbluesmom and mimbulus-mimbletonia! biiig hug I'll type this in parts over the weekend so it's easier for me. AND CONTRIBUTE YOUR IDEAS! They are VERY welcome! Thanks_

Lucius Malfoy had expected a Slytherin boy to come knocking on those doors, ready to render his service to the Dark Lord. Hell, the least he expected was a Ravenclaw boy, even a Hufflepuff maybe as they were loyal, but a GRYFFINDOR? What the hell was Snape thinking? And a member of the Golden Trio nonetheless. And… it was a SHE. Lucius Malfoy had never been more skeptical of a choice of candidate.

Severus Snape took the moment while Lucius was staring at Ms Granger to shoot her looks that would have killed if she had bothered to look at him, but she was looking back at Lucius with determination in her eyes. He was furious beyond words. This girl was hardcore! He had to think of a way to get her out of here fast, or both of them would be in trouble. Then she looked at him. For a moment, he thought he could hear her mentally going "gotcha!" and he was definitely NOT pleased.

"Well, well ,well… what have we here? The Gryffindor mudblood…" drawled the elder Malfoy.

Hermione re-focused her attention back to Malfoy. This was going to be the most crucial part if she wanted to become a spy. She needed to somehow gain his trust enough to slowly introduce herself into the Dark Lord's circle.

"I wish to offer my services and pledge my loyalty to the Dark Lord, Mr. Malfoy." She replied confidently. To which Lucius gave an uncharacteristic snort, as though he would have preferred to laugh out loud.

"And just because of that, you think he will induct you, little mudblood?"

"No, Mr. Malfoy. Not just because of that." Hermione took a step forward.

"I, despite being a mudblood, am the top in the level for 6 years running, Mr. Malfoy. I'm best friend to Harry Potter.." here, Hermione suppressed the emotions brought up at the thought of verbally "betraying" her best friend, hiding her thoughts quickly in case Malfoy saw.

"..who is the very boy that the Dark Lord wants alive. Also, as I am already close to him, I'm the one who stands the highest chance of luring him out of Hogwarts."

Snape stared at the girl. She was good! She had actually hit one of the Dark Lord's motives for wanting a junior Death Eater.

"If that is not enough, I am also able to spy on him closely without much suspicion."

_Strike two. _

"Why the sudden change in loyalty? Someone who is willing to betray her dearest friends will betray the Dark Lord. What are your motives for wanting to join?"

Although Lucius was suspicious of her, he was curious to find out her sudden wish to switch sides.

"Being a _mudblood_, the wizarding world will deny me a claim to power… unless I prove them I am more than capable. What better way to do that then to join the Dark Lord?"

Lucius was intrigued by this girl. She had the guts to say this to a known Death Eater like himself, knowing full well what he could do, having encountered her in the Ministry of Magic in her fifth year. He could have killed her then, and he knew that she knew he could kill her now if he chose. _Most intriguing indeed._

"I'm not entirely convinced yet, Ms Granger."

_Ah ha, there's some improvement… at least he's not calling me mudblood_

"Legilimens!" Malfoy had not even bothered to do it discreetly, thinking that Hermione had not mastered the art of occlumecy.

Immediately Hermione put into practice what she had spent most of her day on- blocking out her real thoughts and memories, and allowing only the false ones to slip through. She had read that memories could be edited to the person's choice, but only leaving parts out. If that could be done when removing thoughts, she believed it could be applied to Occlumecy and thus, she had tried it out.

She studied Malfoy's features while he prodded her thoughts, and sifted through them one by one. She had chosen memories where she had felt neglected by Harry and Ron when they were talking about Quidditch or engrossed in Wizard's Chest…the memory of their first year before the troll incident where they had hurt her feelings… memories when she had tried to stop them from their night time escapades and they had rebuked her.. memories of their quarrels… and finally the memory of how she had got to tell Snape she wanted be a Spy, but the memory did not include her thought of her wanting to be a spy for the Order, so it could be taken she wanted to spy for the Dark.

Lucius had seen enough, and he withdrew from her mind. He surveyed her closely… it seemed that she had not really resisted much, but considering she was a mudblood who lacked the pureblood upbringing, it was quite excusable. However, if she was to be tested by the Dark Lord, she had to be better trained.

"Finally, Severus my friend, you have done what was requested. Severus, train her. She has potential yet and may be useful to our Lord after all. Test her loyalties and we shall present her to our Lord next month. I shall report to him immediately."

With that, the senior Malfoy turned on his heel, gave Snape an appraising look, and left, leaving Snape no chance for reply.

Waiting till Malfoy was out of sight and hearing range, Snape waved his hand and the dungeon door slammed shut. He turned towards Hermione, eyes burning with fury.

"YOU STUPID GIRL! DO YOU KNOW WHAT YOU HAVE GOTTEN US INTO!" he yelled.

"Yes, Sir." Came Hermione's polite reply, looking unfazed by his anger, but was growing angry herself at being shouted at.

Snape stared hard into her eyes, too see the fire within once again burning inside them. His anger seemed to ebb away slowly, giving in to curiosity. He stared into her eyes, and blinked a few times to assure himself. But after he had blinked, the "fire" was gone.

"Ms Granger, do you realize the gravity of the situation?"

"Yes, Sir, I do. And I am prepared to accept the consequences."

Snape gave a tired sigh. He had to speak to Albus about this. No doubt the old man would be upset.

"Come, we shall see the Headmaster."

Severus Snape whipped around and headed out the door, with Hermione following closely behind him.

_A/n: Whew, that took long to type…hehe… what will Dumbledore's reaction be? What will happen to Hermione? Will Severus really train Hermione? Muahahaha……… you'll find out in due time._


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7: Move in

A/n: Thanks to Ballmaster, mimbulus-mimbletonia, Avery-88, mellybellyrbc. Hope I didn't miss out anyone. ;) thank you all for reviewing. And LadyChrissie who has given me a verbal review. Had no net for awhile, so this chapter was waiting in my thumbdrive. Haha…

The walk to the Headmaster's office felt so long although in reality it was barely a three minute walk. Hermione occasionally cast glances at Professor Snape, trying to gauge his emotions, but he kept them well hidden. He walked steadily ahead of her, black robes billowing behind him, not once glancing behind to see if she kept up. Hermione was pondering what the Headmaster would say. She had not really thought of this part, which was quite careless of her, she berated herself.

"Candy floss." Snape's voice interrupted her thoughts, as he grudgingly said the password to the Headmaster's office. Both of them walked in, and were warmly greeted by the Headmaster.

"Good evening, Severus. Ah, Ms Granger. What brings you here?" he smiled at them, blue eyes twinkling.

"Albus, there is a major problem. Could we sit and discuss this?" asked Snape.

Albus suddenly looked grave. "Do have a seat."

Hermione silently sat beside Snape in front of the Headmaster's desk, unable to look at both of them, instead choosing to inspect her shoelaces.

"And what is the matter, Severus? It concerns Ms Granger, I believe?"

"It appears so, Headmaster. You see, as I have informed you, I was to introduce a potential student Death Eater tonight to Lucius. This stubborn girl has chosen to walk in at the precise moment before I could tell Lucius I needed more time." Here, he shot a sneer towards her.

"There was no way to deny what Lucius assumed without putting her in danger, Albus."

The Headmaster did not look very surprised. He merely gave Hermione a small smile, which she did not return, and leaned, back into his seat.

"Is that it, Severus?" He questioned. Snape looked like he wanted to stab Albus Dumbledore for the calm and composure the old man was showing. HE of all people should know what it meant as well. Dumbledore turned to Hermione.

"Lemon drop, my dear?"

"Albus! This is NO time for lemon drops!" snapped Snape.

"Severus, my boy, you need to learn to relax." He offered a small dish of lemon drops to Hermione.

"And how can I in a situation like this? My position is at stake!"

Dumbledore turned to Hermione.

"Ms Granger, may I inquire what would your reason be for attempting such a stunt?" His blue eyes twinkled, and Hermione, too slow to put up mental shields, felt that he had already read her thoughts. But still, she answered him.

"I wanted to help spy for the Order, Sir. I wanted to do my part for the war." Came Hermione's steady reply.

"A very commendable gesture, Ms Granger. However, I ought to reprimand you for not consulting me first. You know how dangerous this could have been."

"I apologize, Headmaster." Hermione once again looked down.

"However, Ms Granger, do you really want to help the Order?"

"I do, Headmaster."

"Albus! You surely will not allow this girl…" interrupted Snape.

"She is of age, Severus, and I will offer her the choice. Ms Granger, would you like to spy for the Order, undergoing tutelage of Severus Snape, or would you like to be hidden from this till the war is over? Remember, no one is forcing you into this, and you have your choice."

Hermione did not even hesitate when she replied "Yes, Headmaster, I would like to spy for the Order."

"She cannot!" protested Snape angrily.

"Severus, if you truly wish to protect her and if you value her life, you will coach her." Dumbledore replied firmly.

Snape gave a frustrated sigh. "Yes, Albus. But you know I do not like this idea."

"To facilitate her training, she will move to one of your guest chambers under the pretence she is now your Potions Apprentice. Is that all right with both of you?" questioned Dumbledore.

Hermione was gloating inside. She did it!

"Like I have a choice, Albus." Snape gave a half-hearted glare to the old man.

"Very well. Ms Granger, if you will proceed to Professor Snape's office, he will meet you there in 15 minutes. I shall need to speak to him for awhile regarding this matter."

"Good bye then, Professor Dumbledore." Hermione walked out of the office and made her way to Snape's office.

_I wonder what he'll teach me. He will punish me first, for sure. I forced this on him. _

Her thoughts flew across her head, and she collided with a figure.

"Watch where you're going!"

Hermione looked up to see Crabbe looking down at her, sneering.

"Where's the rest of the Golden Trio?" he asked.

"Obviously not here." Hermione tried to be more civil. If she was going to join the Dark side, she had to learn to be more civil to the Slytherins… at least, while there's no one else around… like now.

"Well, watch where you're going next time, Granger." And he stalked off.

Hermione was surprised. He had not tried to verbally attack her or insult her in anyway. Was he just like that? Or was it due to a lack of Draco Malfoy's presence? _Perhaps he wasn't smart enough to know how to insult_, Hermione couldn't help thinking, but quickly stopped. After all, Crabbe had never actually done much to her.

She continued her way to Professor Snape's office, and waited in the classroom, going through steps of making complex potions backwards to humour herself while waiting for Snape. Her thoughts soon drifted to what it would be like as a spy. Would she turn into a mini-Snape? Will she be supported by the other Order members? Would Voldemort allow her in, even? What would Harry think…

Snape interrupted her last thought by slamming the classroom door shut.

"Follow me, Ms Granger." He led the way to his office door.

"I will tell you the password to unlock my door. It will give you access to your chambers but you will NOT abuse this trust, do you understand me?" He glared at her.

"Perfectly, Sir."

Snape turned to his door and said "Open sesame." His face showed no emotion as he looked at Hermione, who looked incredulously at him as though she did not know whether to faint, laugh or just shut up. Personally, Snape preferred the "just shut up" option, but he decided to educate her a little.

"A password should be something that is not easy for other's to guess, Ms Granger. You must choose one that people will not expect of you, unlike Albus." He sneered at the thought of Albus's candy passwords. Even a first year could guess those. However, he doubted any dignigified Death Eater would say those passwords out loud.

Hermione looked at Snape as they walked into his office and stood in front of a mirror. She had to a lot more to learn. Not just about being a spy, but about Snape as well. Harry and Ron would have died laughing if she ever told them his password.

"Give me your wand, Ms Granger."

She obediently handed over her wand, which he stuck into the mirror, to her surprise, as he muttered a series of spells under his breath.

"Think of a password and hold on to your wand while letting it remain in the hole. This will allow you to access your chambers. The password alone will not be effective, and the mirror will only accept our wands." Snape explained.

_Surprisingly nice of him._ Hermione could not help thinking. She worked her brain for a decent password. _Something a Death Eater is unlikely to say, and is out of character?_

"Die, Voldie, die."

Severus Snape, spy of the Order, was rendered speechless. Yes, Albus was right, he had MUCH to learn about this girl.

A/n: WHOO! I'm done! D Don't you guys just love the password. Next chapter up, part of her more basic training starts, and we get to see a little more of Ron and Harry. Do review, please


	8. Burn burn burn

A/n: Once again, I'd really like to thank all those who have reviewed

A/n: Once again, I'd really like to thank all those who have reviewed! Ballmaster, Bane, LadyChrissie, mimbulus-mimbletonia, kbluesmom, Avery-88, Mellybellyrbc, Lady Entity and Jefinner. (yay the list is getting longer!) If I didn't reply you, review me again yeah

"_Die, Voldie, die." _

The mirror began to ripple from the part where Hermione's wand was stuck in, spreading over to the whole mirror.

"Hold your wand in front of you while you walk in. Once you remove the wand, the mirror will turn solid again. Let me caution you that should you remove the wand while forgetting to let them fully through, they will suffer the most uncomfortable experience of being trapped partly through the mirror." Snape informed her.

"Yes, Sir. I will be careful."

"It will also not do for a bottom and part of a leg hanging out of my office mirror." Snape said as he stepped through the mirror as though it was a sheet of water.

Hermione chuckled to herself at the idea of Harry or Ron being stuck halfway through the mirror.

"I can hear you, Ms Granger. Get over here now!" Came the voice of Severus Snape through the glass.

She gave a mental "Oh" as she stepped through, feeling as though she did step through a sheet of water as the mirror felt cool against her skin. When she stepped across, what she saw was disappointing. The room looked old and dusty, and was sparsely furnished. There were just two gloomy looking windows facing the entrance. Books lay on a nearby table, and parchment could be seen lying here and there. Her heart sank. Would she have to bear this for her whole training period?

Snape looked at her crestfallen face and gave an evil smirk to himself. Honestly, at this moment the girl would probably start regretting her decision. However, Albus had instructed him to be nicer to the girl, however unwillingly he does it.

"This is just a security measure, Ms Granger. There is yet another door to go through. Are you able to find it?" Snape sounded almost pleasant, which caught Hermione by surprise. Since the time when he had help her get over her parent's death, he had been relatively pleasant to her at all. Upon hearing his challenge, she started to scout all over the room, looking closely at details. The room gave the impression that the person living in its quarters did not have time to maintain it, and obviously did not stay in it much. It would cause a person with the intention to search the room to feel disappointed since the room seemed to lack the presence of hidden secrets.

She ran a hand over the dusty bookshelf, glancing over the book titles. She doubted Snape would use this as a secret passageway. It was just too clichéd. Next, she went over to the desk to look in the drawers and underneath the table. She found nothing of interest. She checked the remaining of the furniture, under chairs, the bed, and one small portrait. She tried a series of spells she had read up, but considering Professor Snape's skill, she doubted they would work. Hermione checked from wall to wall, but found no hint of what might be the next passageway.

"Think Ms Granger. Would I make it so easy for one to enter my private chambers?" He mocked her.

Hermione frowned to herself. She remembered reading that some access spells required a sacrifice of some sort, like blood… but she doubted that Snape would be as crude as that. He'd probably test a person's character. The person trying to enter his chambers should not be some coward like Death Eaters serving the Dark Lord just to survive. She walked towards the window.

The window looked perfectly normal from the first look. She observed the window panes and saw a faint handprint. Upon closer inspection, it seemed about Professor Snape's size. She inspected the window sill and saw a footprint. To make sure of her suspicions, she went to check the other window, but found no markings there. She went back to the first window and peered out. The view was amazing, as was every other view from a Hogwarts window; she could see part of the lake, with the tentacle of the giant squid moving lazily about in the waters. An occasional leaf falling from a tree, being blown away into the water. Then she realized something that confirmed her suspicions.

There was no wind. She could not FEEL any although she could see ripples across the lake that was supposedly caused by wind. She looked at Snape, who gave her an appraising look.

"Not bad, Ms Granger." He was truly impressed. No one, save Albus, had found the entrance to his main chambers yet. The rest of the staff had thought he lived in such shabby quarters and did not bother to look for another entrance. Even though he told her there was another entrance, the fact that she had managed to find it showed that she had potential as a spy.

"Do I really have to jump out the window, professor?" Hermione asked.

"In this training, Ms Granger, I will need to have your trust. If I ask you to do something, you must obey. If we are on a mission, you have to do what I tell you, no questions asked. Is that clear?"

"But professor, what if someone poses as you?"

"We will work on that. But for now, in this castle walls, you can trust I am who I am."

"Yes, Sir."

"Now jump off the window." He commanded.

Since young, Hermione had always been afraid of heights. Now was no different. But still, she was determined. She wanted to be a spy; she had to get over silly little fears like that. Taking a deep breath, she hoisted herself out of the window, biting down on her lip so she would not scream. The fall down DEFINITELY felt real. She felt air blow past her face as she fell, watching the ground come nearer and nearer. She was about to hit the ground when she landed neatly on her own two feet in a narrow, brightly lit hallway.

Snape appeared beside her in an instant, looking somewhat pleased with her mini performance. She had managed not to scream despite her fear of heights. Usually, if a person experienced an encounter like that, they would be reduced to a blubbering state. His aim was to shatter the will of the person who made it past the first few obstacles. Apparently, he hadn't managed to shatter hers. She had dusted herself off, shaking slightly, but still looking determined.

"Where do we go next, Sir?" she enquired in a slightly shaky voice.

"I will show you to your chambers." He spun on his heel and walked down the hallway.

"Follow closely Ms Granger." He instructed.

Hermione looked closely at the hallway which looked like it would never end. She counted the number of doors on either side as they walked. Snape stopped in front of the seventh door on the left, and stuck his palm to it.

"Muggles do have interesting inventions." He commented as he opened the door to reveal yet another hallway.

"Put your hand on the door."

She gingerly placed her hand on the dark wood as he tapped the door with his wand. The wood around her hand glowed for a moment before it faded. He did not need to explain this time what it was for, and walked into the hallway.

"Alright. This is the real hallway. The door to your left in dark red wood will be your chambers. The one in dark green will be my chambers. KNOCK before you enter, Ms Granger, and only if you really need help." He looked at her pointedly.

The black door leads to the dining room and subsequently a kitchen. The brown door leads to my library and private potions lab, you are NOT to enter without my permission. Understood?" He gave her a warning glare as he pointed to the door, and Hermione nodded in response.

"A house elf will move your things. For now, we shall begin with the training." He led her to the end of the hallway, where a large metal door stood cold and gleaming.

"The training room." He opened the heavy looking door with ease, stepping in and removing his outer robe.

It felt as though Hermione had stepped outdoors, but she knew for sure this was not Hogwarts grounds. She looked carefully, and could see that it was actually a huge room with a ceiling similar to the Great Hall's, to reflect the weather outside. The room was huge enough to even have a mini forest. Hermione had no doubt the forest was enchanted to appear smaller than it really was. The edge of the forest had a small clearing, with a lake by the side. It was truly amazing, considering that this was INSIDE the building, in Snape's chambers no less.

Snape walked over to the clearing and sat on a rock, indicating that she should do the same.

"How did you block Lucius's legimacy?" he questioned her. "Not just block, you did something to convince him you were not blocking him, or he would've killed you."

"I sifted out some memories, Sir." She replied politely.

"Show me what you did. Legilimens!" he eyes bore deeply into hers as he delved into her mind.

He saw the memories that Hermione had showed Lucius, and noticed that he could not break in further to her mind. Lucius must have gotten careless to forget that. This girl was lucky. But still, how did she manage to learn occlumecy on her own, let alone sift the memories? The only accomplished legilimens in the castle were himself and Albus.. the rest could not have helped her come this far.

"I must admit Ms Granger, that was…impressive. Not many your age could have accomplished such a high level of occlumecy. However, it is not enough. The Dark Lord will search for more than just the memories you offer. You are lucky that Lucius did not do so tonight." He looked at her seriously, but she just looked down at the grass, her face emptied of emotions.

Muggle-borns without pureblood upbringing did not learn occlumecy fast. How had this girl picked it up so fast on her own? He knew that she had no proper coaching. Morever, she had been able to repel his intrusion into her mind once…

"I… I don't know how I did it at first, Sir." She refused to look in his eyes.

She was being honest, as far as he could tell. While in the office with Albus, he had mentioned that there was something special about this girl's magical signature, although he could not place what it was. He had instructed Snape to find out carefully. He had already formulated a plan in mind. He had his suspicions, but could not risk revealing it to her yet. If her magical energy had been tapped into when he first provoked her, why shouldn't that work now?

"Liar." He replied in a cold voice.

"I'm telling the truth sir!" she protested, outraged at being called a liar.

_Gryffindors and their pride. _He thought sardonically.

"How would I know for sure, Ms Granger? You were capable of blocking ME out of your mind. How can I prove you are not lying?" he stood up to tower over her menacingly. He could feel her stress level rising.

"You could be a spy for the Dark Lord, sent and trained by his most loyal to spy for him." He sneered down his nose at her, while she stared defiantly into his eyes. Once again, he could see fire burning within them. It was nonsense, really… Lucius and himself would definitely have known if Hermione was made a spy.

"I want to spy for the ORDER! Not for Voldemort! You said we needed to have trust in this! Why can't you trust me?" she demanded angrily.

"If I trusted easily, Ms Granger, I would not be a spy today." His voice remained condescending and icy cold.

Hermione looked at him, increasingly frustrated with each sentence he said. How could she prove her innocence when she really did not know how she developed occlumecy skills herself?

"Now speak up! How did you learn occlumecy?" He yelled at her, knowing full well she hated it.

"I REALLY don't know!" she cried.

"For once the know-it-all has no answer? You're still a CHILD, Ms Granger." He said in his sarcastic velvet voice.

"I AM NOT A CHILD OR A KNOW-IT-ALL!" she screamed at him, eyes blazing with anger, all thoughts of him being a professor hurled out the window.

"You are, and will always be a child in my eyes, Ms Granger, as long as you continue to behave like one."

The nearby bushes burst into flames.

_That did the trick. _

The sound of the fire suddenly bursting alive there halted the argument instantly, causing both of them to stare at the flaming bushes. Snape calmly raised his hands to the bushes. To Hermione's astonishment, he did not use wand. Instead, water appeared to be shooting out of his hands as he put out the fire.

"Well, Ms Granger," Snape said with a big smirk on his face as he looked at her bewildered and confused expression.

"It appears you are an elemental."

A/n: FINALLY I got this part done! My back hurts from sitting here all day to type this out since I don't have school today whooo hoooo! I've been waiting so long to write this chapter that I forgot all about Ron and Harry. I'm putting a hold on any romance since I have no ideas on how to write them yet (want them, give me ideas then!) REVIEW! Thanks.


	9. Chapter 9

"

_A/n: sorry to the old readers if they still read this, for the super long delay in this chapter. But hey, at least I started again. Will be changing the pairings a bit, perhaps there will be no romance in this story since I am not a romance writer XD. Thanks to all who reviewed, I really appreciate it and I do take it seriously! _

"..a what? And how did you do that?" was Hermione's stunned reply.

"An Elemental. Come on now, Ms Granger, don't tell me the resident bookworm has not read on such a topic yet?" He couldn't resist adding another jibe at her.

"B..but I cant be! My parents were muggle!"

Hermione had read about Elementals briefly in a library book, as her idea of casual light reading. Unfortunately, Elementals usually hid their presence due to the amount of researchers trying to find out more about them, and the little that was known was in the book. Elemental powers are scattered throughout the world, and throughout different races. Elves, vampires, dwarves and other magic folk were known to have a generation of elementals throughout history. Usually, the powers are granted to different races each generation so that the probability of Elementals joining forces are rare, although there have been instances where Elementals meet and do battle with each other which resulted in disastrous consequences. Once the Elemental dies, a new one will be born in his or her place. Elemental magic is not hereditary, and only one of each element can exist at any point of time.

"You do not have to be a witch or a wizard to be an Elemental." Snape informed.

"But witches and wizards are known to set things on fire or other forms of magic when in a heightened emotional state!"

Hermione could not believe what Snape was telling her. When she discovered that she was a witch, the bizarre incidents that occurred in her childhood made sense… but then again.. hadn't most of them been associated with fire? Like when the neighbourhood bully had torn up her book on fairy tales.. hadn't she set his hair ablaze for a short moment? But still… no… it did make sense… she had always been good with spells involving fire… like the spell to set Snape's robes on fire in her first year, which most people didn't manage till their 5th.

"Neither does a witch or wizard's eye glow like fire when they're angered."

"They glow?"

"Yes, they glow. It is a mark of an Elemental when in a heightened state, usually anger or when exerting their power." Snape really didn't feel like explaining the whole story to her. There were much more pressing matters at hand.

"Wait a moment… you made water come out of your hand. Are you an Elemental, Professor? I read that wandless magic is not possible among witches and wizards, and…"

"SILENCE, Ms Granger. We do not have time to idle around spouting what we've read from books. I will have you know that the Dark Lord is in search of the four Elementals." Snape cut her off mid-sentence, to which Hermione gave a twitch of irritation.

Snape's initial surprise at finding another elemental was wearing off, and although he was curious to find out more about her abilities, the fact that she was an Elemental would make her position as a spy much more dangerous, not to mention risky. Voldemort knew Snape was an Elemental, which was the main reason why he had kept Snape close to him when he was in power, and now. Snape's abilities as a water elemental enabled him to be a very efficient spy, and Voldemort had set him the task of finding the other 3 Elementals, for it is the reason that Elementals are an extreme force to be reckoned with when combined that Voldemort wanted them on his side. Had Snape not been an Elemental, he would certainly have been killed much earlier.

However, the other Death Eaters were oblivious to his power, as Voldemort wanted it to be kept secret for fear that they may revere him, and that he would grow arrogant and try to work with the other Elementals to overthrow his master. As such, he was ordered to never reveal any form of his elemental powers to his fellow Death Eaters, which resulted in him suffering torment which he could have easily avoided.

_Probably his idea of instilling humility… _Snape thought bitterly.

"..but yes, Ms Granger, I am the Water Elemental." She might as well know, it was essential that she did, in case she let slip his identity to others unwittingly.

Like the other Elementals before him, he did not wish to be subjected to interviews and experiments, nor have his life's story broadcast to the world. In truth, he himself was unsure of the extent of his powers, and had hoped to meet an Elemental who could answer his questions. Clearly, the girl could not.

Hermione stared at him, still a little angry at his earlier attempts to get her to reveal her powers, asking the silent question if she was allowed to talk yet. To this, Snape gave an inward smirk, assured that he still had control over the girl as her Professor.

"We will need to begin preparing for your meeting with the Dark Lord. It is best that we learn how to control your elemental powers first, as the Dark Lord has knowledge of my identity and will seek to ensure we do not conspire against him… or so he thinks."

"How do we do that, Sir?" she was excited to test her abilities.

"I will demonstrate to you some of my abilities, and you will try to come up with your own versions of them. Fire Elementals are known to be highly destructive, and you are not to train on your own without me around, is that clear?"

"Destructive? How.."

"Is that clear, Ms Granger." Bit Snape, short on patience.

"Perfectly, Sir."

_Setting him on fire sounded pretty good at the moment…she could always blame it on being unable to control her powers.. _

It was a good thing he possessed control over water. Had he been Earth or Air.. he might not be able to contain the potential disasters she could cause. The destruction of his precious room could be one, since he preferred to grow most of his own potion supplies.

"And you must not tell any one, not even Potter or Weasly, what you are. It could lead to undesirable consequences."

"Yes, Sir." _That control freak…_ _of course i know that._

"I will come up with more rules as I see fit, Ms Granger. I expect you to behave like an adult while you live in my quarters. Is that clear?"

_Really, I could try burning him a teensy weensy bit… _

"Crystal, Professor Snape."

"We shall start with trying to manipulate a source of our respective elements." said Snape, as he conjured a glass of water and a candle, which he lighted with his wand. He sat down on the grass, with the items in between them, and motioned for her to do the same.

He raised his hand casually over the glass, and caused the water to float neatly out of it, as though it defied gravity. He then moved his fingers lazily, and the shapeless mass of water shaped itself into a neat ball, floating slightly in his hand, as Hermione watched with keen interest.

"Your turn." Snape was watching Hermione's expression as he let the ball hover on its own over the glass.

Hermione faced the lighted candle, staring at the flames uneasily. He had made it seem so simple, so natural… could she do the same?

She nervously raised a slightly trembling hand to the flame, hoping to manage to raise the flame off the candle as her first step.

When you are trying your elemental powers for the first time, and have not learnt to control it, you do not exert your power in the direction where your Professor sits. And this lesson, Hermione and Snape learnt on their first session together, as out of nerves she exerted too much and sent a large blast of flames towards Professor Snape, consuming his figure totally and vaporizing the ball of water in his hand.

Hermione cried out with fright at the size of the flames, and immediately withdrew her hand. The flames instantly died off, leaving Hermione staring blankly at the place where her Professor once sat which was now burnt black, and a small flame burning innocently on the candle between them.

_A/n: I love cliffhangers, don't you? Anyway, looking forward to reviews again! I know this chapter was abit boring in terms of action, but I made up for it at the end, didn't I?_


	10. A minute of silence for Snape

Hermione panicked, on the verge of tears as she blindly searched the charred area of grass where Professor Snape had just been

_A/n: before anyone gets any funny ideas, none of my ideas for elemental magic are derived from Naruto, or any other source. They are more or less my own imagination (before naruto even existed Lots of thanks to all my reviewers (especially to those I bugged for one) and those who added me on their alert list. Its encouraging, I tell you!_

Hermione panicked, on the verge of tears as she blindly searched the charred area of grass where Professor Snape had just been. All earlier musings of Snape being on fire now seemed alien to her, and she was just beginning to blame herself when…

"Looking for something, Ms Granger?" came the amused voice of Severus Snape.

Hermione spun around to see her professor materializing, alive and soon to be whole.

"H-how? Oh god, I'm so sorry i-i... " she stammered, flooded with relief that she had not killed her professor.

"Magic, you silly witch." Snape smirked at her bewildered expression.

"But... I... uh..."

"Reflexivity is a skill you must learn as a spy. Had I been slow, I assure you I would be quite dead by now. One of my abilities is to vaporize. I trust that is a sufficient explanation."

Snape was able to turn himself into water vapour at will. That ability alone had been extremely useful to his role as a spy, making him virtually undetectable and allowed him to access certain locations, as long as it had space for his vapour to seep through. It was definitely useful when he was in zones he could not apparate in. However, this ability was dangerous to practice when injured, as he could end up aggravating his wounds.

"Wow."

"When you have mastered the basics, we shall experiment on your prowess. But for now, we will focus on how you behave at this week's meeting with the Dark Lord. One little slip and he will kill you, and you will jeopardize my position. I WILL NOT allow that, do you hear me, Ms Granger?"

Snape was icily serious, and the fearsome glare he gave her sent a shiver down her spine. Nonetheless, she was determined to control her powers.

"I'm ready to try again, Sir."

"You may proceed, then."

_Still the arrogant bastard…_

Hermione took a few deep breaths to calm her nerves, which was greatly helped by the fact that Snape would be able to at least survive should things go amuck. She raised her hand to the flame once again, and this time, she confidently focused on the flame.

The flame flickered on the candle, growing larger for a moment, before reducing back to its normal size. It gave a funny little spasm before detaching itself neatly from the candle and floating towards Hermione.

"Wont it burn my hand?" Hermione paused the movement of the flame midway, hesitant.

"Have you ever been burnt?"

That was a good point, she had never been burnt in her life. One of the perks of being an Elemental, she decided, but when she turned her attention back to the flame, it was no longer there.

"Concentration, Ms Granger." drawled Snape lazily, flicking his wand so that the candle rekindled itself.

She raised her hand again, repeating the process, only to have the flame go out as it moved toward her palm over and over again. At least it was now taking longer before it flickered and extinguished. However, it was a highly frustrating process.

"Remember that you are new to your power. It will take time to get used to it."

Hermione thought it was a nice encouragement, considering that it was coming from Snape.

"Professor?"

"What now?"

"Why was it only recently that my powers became more prominent?"

_Did I honestly think I'd be blessed the freedom from her questions out of a classroom?_

"Because Elemental magic only begins to distinct itself when the Elemental has reached the age of 16."

"Why?"

"Responsibility over their power."

"What about the fire-related magic? I caused some fires to happen as a kid…"

"Basic qualities that come from birth."

"But…"

"GET ON WITH YOUR PRACTICE, GIRL!"

"Yes, Sir."

Snape rolled his eyeballs when she looked away. A moment ago, he was on the verge of considering her an adult. But when she started with her tirade of questions, she was undeniably annoying… like a little child with fathomless curiousity. Snape hated to answer questions.

He observed her cautiously while she practiced, in case she lost control again, but she seemed much more secure with her powers now.

"I did it!" she suddenly cried out.

Snape looked up to see just in time the flame extinguish in her palm, and the joy melting from her face. He was almost tempted to laugh.

"Apparently not."

Half an hour went by before she gave a whoop of joy, the flame now clearly burning brightly in her palm.

"About time."

"What's next, Sir?" said Hermione, glowing brightly with joy.

"It will suffice for today. Now that you can control a flame, you would be able to control the basics of your powers. Nevertheless, you are to control your temper at all times in the presence of others to avoid others from uncovering your identity."

She nodded in agreement.

"Now we will proceed to what behaviour is expected of you in the presence of the Dark Lord."

The smile of joy at her success was not replaced by a stern look.

"He will, undoubtedly…" Without warning, he entered Hermione's mind.

Hermione was caught off-guard, she had not expected him to conduct a practical lesson, thinking he would elaborate the theories first. She was forced to see her memories exposed to him.

_She was 6 again, playing with dolls in the garden while her parents were indoors. The neighbouring girl was snatching her favourite Barbie doll from her, and she burst into tears…then the other girl screamed and dropped the doll as though it had burnt her…_

_She was 11, her first year in Hogwarts…wondering if the 4 houses could possibly represent four elements to keep her occupied in the eagerness and nervousness while waiting to be sorted…_

_Then she was in her current year… she saw a speck of blood on the floor and decided to follow it…a dark figure in the hallway…_

"NO!" she shouted, and once again, not only was Snape violently pushed out of her mind, but he was flung away from her by an invisible force.

Snape looked at her incredulously. _TWICE?!_

"Its past curfew!" squeaked Hermione, quickly dashing out the door before Snape could even get to his feet.

She didn't stop running till she got back to her dormitory where she was sure Snape wouldn't come banging when it was midnight. What would he do now knowing that she was the one who helped him the night he returned injured? Would he stop teaching her? He'd definitely be furious, no doubt, especially since he would discover that it was he who made her decide to be a spy for the Order.

Hermione's sleep didn't come easy that night, she mindlessly stroked Crookshanks till she fell asleep, dreaming uneasily of Snape setting her on fire just to have an excuse to drown her.

Down in the dungeons, the double spy for the two most powerful wizards in the history of the wizarding world was deeply unsettled. And for once, it had nothing to do with both said wizards.

_A/n: The title was meant to bugger some Snape fans XD. Do leave a review, would love plot ideas and evil suggestions if you have any. MUCH apologies for not posting this sooner, I had all but the last half a page done up, but uni/college takes up too much time these days. I'll try to update bi-weekly! Thanks a lot for reading and the support! _


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